Operating means for venetian blinds



May 21, 1963 s. E. LIDIN OPERATING MEANS FOR VENETIAN BLINDS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 26, 1962 May 21, 1963 s. E. LIDIN OPERATING MEANS FOR VENETIAN BLINDS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 26, 1962 it tats OPERATING Sigfrid Emanuel This invention relates to novel and improved means for operating Venetian blinds.

Venetian blinds are known in which the operating cords for raising and lowering the slats serve also for selec tively closing and opening the blinds by tilting the slats through applying a pulling force to one or the other of said cords. As is well known, the bottom slat in Venetian blinds is generally considerably heavier than the other slats, and in Venetian blinds of the kind mentioned above one of the cords is secured to said bottom slat adjacent one end thereof while the other cord is secured to said bottom slat adjacent the other end thereof. From said attachment points the cords extend upwardly through slots in the slats to the top slat, or bar, which is pivotally mounted in the window frame or in a downwardly open box secured to the window frame. The cords extend through bores in said top slat and then over break pulleys or smooth break surfaces at one end of the top slat, one of said pulleys or surfaces being disposed at each side edge of the top slat, so that a pull in one of the free end portions of the cords depending from said pulleys or surfaces causes the top slat to tilt to the corresponding side, thereby tilting all the other slats correspondingly in a known manner. By pulling both cords simultaneously the blind is, of course, raised without changes of the tilting angle of the slats.

This kind of Venetian blind functions in a satisfactory manner when the bottom slat is comparatively heavy so as to olfer through its weight a suflicient resistance to pull in one of the cords to overcome the friction in the pivot bearings of the top slat. The modern trend is, however, to make the Venetian blinds, including the bottom slat, as light as possible as, for example, of aluminum, and in such cases as well as in blinds of very small dimensions generally the weight of the bottom slat is frequently insuflicient to cause the abovementioned tilting effect, so that all that pull in one of the cords accomplishes is to raise the corresponding end of the bottom slat together with the end portions of a number of slats thereabove while the opposite ends remain lowered.

It is the principal object of the present invention to eliminate said lastmentioned undesirable effect in Venetian blinds of the type indicated.

Another object of the invention is to provide a Venetian blind of the kind indicated in which the top slat which may be termed the support slat is provided at one end thereof with a sleeve means which is pivotally mounted on a pin forming an extension of the support slat and from which the free end portions of the operating cords depend one at each side of the blind. The pin has a longitudinal groove, or recess, therein in which the cords are guided through the sleeve, and the sleeve is provided with an interior projection extending partly into said groove in the pin in such a manner that turning of the sleeve through a small angle in either direction causes said projection to clamp one of the cords against the edge of the groove with sufficient force to prevent the clamped cord from sliding on the sleeve and thereby to prevent the aforesaid raising of one end only of the bottom slat. Accordingly, continued pulling of the clamped cord effects the tilting of the slats.

The invention is described below with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 shows a front elevation of an embodiment of the invention in lowered and partly closed condition,

atet G" I 3,090,428 Patented May 21, 1963 FIG. 2 is a longitudinal horizontal section on the line 11-11 of FIG. 3,

FIG. 3 is a transverse section on line IIIIII of FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 is a section similar to that of FIG. 3 but with the movable parts in a different position,

FIG. 5 is a cross-section on line VV of FIG. 2,

FIG. 6 is a cross-section on line VIVI of FIG. 2,

FIG. 7 is an elevational view of a detail,

FIG. 8 shows a plan view of a detail of the support slat for the blind,

FIG. 9 shows a section through said detail on line IXIX in FIG. 8,

FIG. 10 is a cross-section on line X-X of FIG. 9,

FIG. 11 shows a plan view of another detail of the support slat, and

FIG. 12 is a side elevation of the lastmentioned detail.

In FIG. 1 a Venetian blind is shown mounted in a window frame 1 in a Well known manner in that a downwardly open elongated box 2 is secured to the top member 3 of the window frame 1. The box 2 may be made of sheet metal and may have the cross-sectional shape shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. It is provided with identical end walls 4 which have a horizontal leg 5 inserted and firmly held in guideways formed by bent-down pieces 6 of the top wall of the box 2. Each end wall 4 is provided with a pin 7 extending into the box for supporting the top slat, or support slat, 8 of the Venetian blind in a manner to be described.

The support slat 8 is made of a rigid sheet metal piece of the cross-sectional shape shown particularly in FIG. 5. It thus forms a substantially tubular member 9 having open ends and a longitudinal slot 10 in its top side. Two rigid sheet metal members 11, 12 (FIGS. 2 and 6) are secured Within the tubular member 9' and spaced apart as shown in FIG. 2. To each of said members 11, 12 two cords, or fabric bands, 13, 14 and 15, 16, respectively, are secured in any suitable manner, and said bands depend from the support slat 8, two at each side thereof, and are connected in pairs at uniform intervals to form the regular support means for the slats 17. The lower ends of the bands 1316 are secured to the bottom slat 18 in a well known manner.

At one end the support slat 8 is provided with an insert which is firmly secured to the support slat and provided with a longitudinal bore in which a member 21 is slidably mounted. At its outer end said member 21 is provided with a bore for receiving the pin 7, and at the inner end the member 21 has a bore for receiving a compression spring 22, the maximum compression of which is adjustable by means of a screw 23 threadedly inserted in the inner end of the insert 20. It is obvious, therefore, that the support slat 8 may be removed from the box 2 by pushing the member 21 inwards against the action of the spring 22 until it is free from the pin 7.

In the opposite end of the support slat 8 an insert 24 is secured which is shown in detail in FIGS. 8, 9 and 10. The insert 24 comprises a main portion 25 disposed entirely within the support slat 8, and a downwardly oifset portion 26 which projects outwardly from the end of said support slat 8 and has a bore 27 in its outer end for receiving the pin 7 at this end of the box 2. The bore 27 is aligned with the bore for the pin 7 at the opposite end of the support slat 8 so that the pins 7 serve as pivot pins for support slat 8. The bore 27 may have a slightly larger diameter than the corresponding pin 7 in order to permit some degree of inclination of the support slat 8 in relation to the box 2 during insertion and removal of the support slat 8. The oifset portion 26 is circular in cross-section, except as explained below.

In the top surface of the insert portion 25 there is a longitudinal recess 28 which extends from the inner end of the insert 24 and partly into the portion 26 where the recess becomes gradually shallower and, as a consequence, also narrower, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. Towards the outer end of the portion 26 the recessbecomes a small groove, as indicated at 25 in FIGS. 3, 4, 8 and 9.

A sleeve element 30 is rotatably mounted on the insert portion 26. Said sleeve 30 has a circular portion 31 which is concentric with the insert portion 26 and forms the outer wall of a substantially circumferential groove 32 which, however, is interrupted on the top side of the sleeve so as to leave an opening 33 which extends into the central bore 34 of the sleeve. The groove 32 may also be interrupted on the bottom side of the sleeve to form a flat surface 35 which merges into a curved surface 36 extending to the inner end of the sleeve. The portions of the sleeve cut away to form the surfaces '35, 36 are removed principally in order to save material and weight and not for any functional reason.

Within the portion of the sleeve 30 facing the insert portion 25 there is a depending projection 37 which has a relatively narrow transverse dimension and a curved bottom face extending upwardly from the inner end of the sleeve, and at both sides of said projection 37 the portion of the sleeve forming the inner boundary of the groove 32 is curved as shown at 38 and 39. The groove 29 in the insert portion 26 serves the purpose of permitting the sleeve 30 to slide in onto the portion 26 to the assembled position shown in FIG. 2 since the projection 3-7 at the inner end of the sleeve extends so far downwardly as to otherwise prevent such assembling. It will be obvious, therefore, that in the assembled condition the lower tip portion of the projection 37 will restrict rotary movement of the sleeve 30 by engagement with the edges of the recess 28 adjacent the outer end of the insert portion 25, as in the approximate area indicated by the arrow 40.

Each slat 17 is provided'with two transverse slots (not shown), one between the bands 13 and 14 and the other between the bands 15 and 16. Two strings, or cords, 41, 42 are secured to the bottom slat 18 between said pairs of bands and extend upwardly through said slots in the slats 17 and through holes 43, 44 in the bottom of the support slat 8 and members 11, 12. Said cords 41, 42 then extend within the support slat 8 into the recess 28 in the insert 24 and from there one at each side of the projection 37 and along the curved surfaces 38, 39 into the groove 32 from where they depend one at each side of the sleeve 30.

In operation, when the sleeve 30 occupies the angular position shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, i.e. with the projection 37 in vertical position, the slats 17 are in the untilted position (not shown). If the free end of the cord 42 is pulled downwardly the only initial effect will be to rotate the sleeve 30 to cause the projection 37 to move to the right in FIG. 4 until it engages the cord 42 and thereby clamps it against the corresponding side wall of the recess 28 in the area 40. Continued pulling on the cord -42 will then cause rotation of the support slat 8 and through the bands 13-16 corresponding tilting of the slats 17. By being clamped as described the cord 42' is prevented from sliding in the groove 32 of the sleeve 30. However, the clamping effect is of moderate magnitude so that if pulling of the cord continues after the slats 17 have reached the limit of their tilting movement, the clamping effect will be rather readily overcome and the cord will slide in the groove 32, thus causing the corresponding end of the bottom slat 18 to be raised rather than causing breakage of the cord or some other member of the operating mechanism. Another advantageous effect of said limited clamping action is that by pulling both cords 41, 42 simultaneously the blind can be raised regardless of what the angular position of the slats happens to be. Any known means may be employed for locking the blind in a desired partly raised position, such as a double hook 45 to which the cords may be tied. If the blind is mounted between the panes of a double window the cords may be brought to the outside through a hole through the sash and the hook 45, or other means for the same purpose, may be secured to the sash rather than to the frame.

Variations and modifications within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims will readily occur to those skilled in the art.

What I claim is:

1. In a Venetian blind, means defining a support slat, means defining a bottom slat, a plurality of intermediate slats between said support slat and said bottom slat, pairs of flexible means connecting said bottom slat with said support slat at both sides thereof and at least two horizontally spaced locations, a plurality of transverse means interconnecting said flexible means in pair for individually supporting said intermediary slats at spaced intervals, aligned means for pivotally mounting said support slat at both ends thereof, sleeve means rotatably mounted on one of said aligned means, a longitudinally extending recess in the upper portion of said lastmentioned aligned means, a depending projection within said sleeve means which extends partly into said recess and is of less peripheral size than the width of the recess, thereby limiting the extent of rotatability of said sleeve means in relation to said lastmentioned aligned means, a circumferential groove at the outer end of said sleeve means, slots in said intermediary slats between the flexible members of each of said pairs of flexible means, said support slat having holes therethrough above said slots, and operating cords secured to said bottom slat and extending upwardly through said slots and holes and through said sleeve means in said recess one at each side of said depending projection therein and further into said circumferential groove from which they depend one on each side of said sleeve means, whereby pull exerted in one of said depending cords causes said sleeve means to rotate until said projection clamps the pulled cord against the edge of said recess and thus causes the support slat to participate in continued rotation of said sleeve means to thereby tilt said intermediary slats, while pull exerted in both cords simultaneously and equally causes the blind to be raised without change of the angular position of said sup port slat and intermediary slats regardless of the degree of said angular position.

2. The Venetian blind as set forth in claim 1, including a pair of curved surfaces in said sleeve means extending from the bore in said sleeve means to said circumferential groove at both sides to form smooth engagement surfaces of said cords.

3. The Venetian blind as set forth in claim 1, in which said support slat comprises a substantially tubular ele ment provided with a slot in its upper portion extending from end to end of said tubular element, said sleeve supporting aligned member forming part of an insert secured in said tubular member, and said recess being provided in said insert.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,206,796 Williams July 2, 1940 2,572,291 Weaver Oct. 23, 1951 2,594,637 Gertzon Apr. 29, 1952 

1. IN A VENETIAN BLIND, MEANS DEFINING A SUPPORT SLAT, MEANS DEFINING A BOTTOM SLAT, A PLURALITY OF INTERMEDIATE SLATS BETWEEN SAID SUPPORT SLAT AND SAID BOTTOM SLAT, PAIRS OF FLEXIBLE MEANS CONNECTING SAID BOTTOM SLAT WITH SAID SUPPORT SLAT AT BOTH SIDES THEREOF AND AT LEAST TWO HORIZONTALLY SPACED LOCATIONS, A PLURALITY OF TRANSVERSE MEANS INTERCONNECTING SAID FLEXIBLE MEANS IN PAIR FOR INDIVIDUALLY SUPPORTING SAID INTERMEDIARY SLATS AT SPACED INTERVALS, ALIGNED MEANS FOR PIVOTALLY MOUNTING SAID SUPPORT SLAT AT BOTH ENDS THEREOF, SLEEVE MEANS ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON ONE OF SAID ALIGNED MEANS, A LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING RECESS IN THE UPPER PORTION OF SAID LASTMENTIONED ALIGNED MEANS, A DEPENDING PROJECTION WITHIN SAID SLEEVE MEANS WHICH EXTENDS PARTLY INTO SAID RECESS AND IS OF LESS PERIPHERAL SIZE THAN THE WIDTH OF THE RECESS, THEREBY LIMITING THE EXTENT OF ROTATABILITY OF SAID SLEEVE MEANS IN RELATION TO SAID LASTMENTIONED ALIGNED MEANS, A CIRCUMFERENTIAL GROOVE AT THE OUTER END OF SAID SLEEVE MEANS, SLOTS IN SAID INTERMEDIARY SLATS BETWEEN THE FLEXIBLE MEMBERS OF EACH OF SAID PAIRS OF FLEXIBLE MEANS, SAID SUPPORT SLAT HAVING HOLES THERETHROUGH ABOVE SAID SLOTS, AND OPERATING CORDS SECURED TO SAID BOTTOM SLAT AND EXTENDING UPWARDLY THROUGH SAID SLOTS AND HOLES AND THROUGH SAID SLEEVE MEANS IN SAID RECESS ONE AT EACH SIDE OF SAID DEPENDING 